State should wake up and address growing crime rate

The killing of three teachers in Garissa County by Al Shabaab militants must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.

The Constitution is clear about protection of lives and property and it is annoying that those charged with the security of Kenyans are busy engaging in matters that have no direct impact on their lives.

They are busy popularising the handshake and the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Several ugly incidents have taken place in the recent past, including the loss of more than 100 lives to floods, with West Pokot being the hardest hit.

To make matters worse, the government has not taken clear measures to ensure such incidents do not recur.

Any government that fails to protect the lives and property of its citizens has no business being in power.

It is unbelievable that vast resources are being wasted on BBI instead of focusing on the war against terror and cattle rustling, among other criminal activities.

From the time Interior CS Fred Matiang'i was made a ‘super CS’, cases of insecurity have rocked the country because he has been busy with matters not related to his docket.

President Uhuru Kenyatta should take charge of security and stop assuming that all is well when innocent lives are being lost to criminals.

In case Uhuru doesn’t trust any other leader to spearhead the handshake and BBI, he should appoint Matiang'i as special CS in charge of handshake/BBI and pick another person to oversee security.

We have witnessed several cases of terror attacks on non-locals in northern Kenya, including the security officers who were recently ambushed, and the government behaved as if nothing happened.

It is unfortunate that Kenyans from across the country who throng northern Kenya in search of employment opportunities are brutally murdered as they attempt to take care of their families.

The current regime should learn from the reign of retired President Mwai Kibaki when security was tight and the economy was growing steadily.

The fact remains that the handshake and BBI are dividing Kenyans along ethnic and political lines. It is because of the handshake that the country is seeing a situation where there is selective war on corruption and arbitrary arrest of leaders perceived to support Deputy President William Ruto. 

Joel Onyango